Rufous Necked Hornbill

[Subhajit Chaudhuri]

Dear members,

Found this male Rufous Necked Hornbill near Panbang, the Bhutan side of Manas National Park. I am not sure whether the location can be technically called within Royal Manas National Park [ the Bhutanese counter part of the site], may be on No Man's Zone. This vulnerable [ IUCN status: 2015] species breeds in a small patch of North Bengal, known to local birding enthusiasts. But there has not been many sighting of this species in Assam, so we were delighted to spot this beautiful male.

Canon 70D, with Tamron 70-300 Vc Di Handheld[ 1/640, F9, ISO- 3200].

[Samrat Sarkar]

Great sighting...panbung is also famous for Wreathed Hornbill and Red-headed Trogon..when did you click this (which month)? want to see more from Manas..

Samrat

[Subhajit Chaudhuri]

This was sighted on 26th March 2016. We also sighted Wreathed Hornbill & heard the call of Red Headed Trogon but unfortunately could not photograph those. I would better post a trip report in appropriate thread , which may help future visits.

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

The range extends into Arunachal Pradesh. Is it not known to breed there?

[Subhajit Chaudhuri]

It breeds. But the dwindling numbers have kept the sighting low. Still Manas as well as other NE ranges are considered "best chances" to spot for hornbills. RN Hornbill numbers are not so encouraging.

[Samrat Sarkar]

Dear Shubhajit

We'll love to read your trip report on Manas...yes, there is a famous breeding spot of Rufous Necked Hornbill near Kurshiong in North Bengal...but I am not sure whether any nesting has been found this year in Banshbari Range of Manas or not..well, you can also enjoy that image of GI Hornbill photographed in Manas in last January

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?17233

Samrat

[Subhajit Chaudhuri]

Have not spotted any Hornbill nest in Manas. But RN Hornbill was surely having one where I found him. Manas yielded four species of hornbill to me - Rufous Necked, Oriental Pied, Great & Wreathed. The trip report is available here : http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?17548-Trip-Report-on-Manas-Assam-March-2016&p=80099#post80099

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Nice colourfull bird. Wish light had fallen on the eyes, as that would have made it shine. Thanks for sharing.

[Subhash Shrivastava]

A beautiful ad rare bird, fighting for survival due to idiotic idiosyncrasies of humans. Thanks for sharing.